Balsamic Glazed Lamb Salad

What better way to celebrate our national day than with New Zealand lamb? Try this delicious salad by Chelsea Winter...

Serves 5-6

Prep Time: 20mins

Cooking Time: 35mins

Ingredients

3 Quality Mark lamb rumps

Glaze

1 cup balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 stick fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Salad

3 cups baby spinach leaves

Seeds from 1 pomegranate

1 bunch asparagus, ends snapped off and chopped into thirds

1 red onion, thinly sliced

3 large orange kumara, peeled, chopped and steamed or roasted

200g haloumi cheese, sliced then cut into triangles

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

¾ cup pine nuts and/or pistachios lightly toasted

Vinaigrette

¼ cup oil

2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 cup basil leaves, very finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 210°C.

Glaze

Add all the glaze ingredients to a small saucepan and simmer to reduce by half (this should take around 15 minutes) Set aside to cool down and slightly thicken.

Lamb

Pat the lamb rumps dry, rub with a little oil and season. Heat a frying pan or BBQ over a high heat and sear the lamb for a couple of minutes to brown all over. If you leave the fat on, leave it a little longer on that side to render and get crispy. Place the lamb on a plate and coat all over with the balsamic glaze. Transfer to an oven dish lined with tinfoil, spoon a little more balsamic glaze over top and finish cooking in the oven for 12-15 minutes depending on how you like it done. Remove from the oven, spoon a little more glaze over top, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

Salad

Add a dash of oil to a frying pan and bring to a high heat. Fry the cooked kumara pieces for a few minutes until golden. Set aside, add the asparagus to the pan with another dash of oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, and cook until tender. Season as required. Only just before serving, cook the haloumi in the pan. Brush the slices with a little oil and fry over medium-high heat for a minute or two each side until crispy and golden.

Vinaigrette

Whisk the ingredients together until combined. Season as required.

To serve

Toss the lamb with the baby spinach, pomegranate seeds, asparagus, red onion, kumara, tomatoes and half the nuts in a bowl with half the vinaigrette. Arrange on plates or a platter and add the haloumi. Sprinkle with toasted nuts and drizzle with a little more vinaigrette or balsamic glaze if you like. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

For more beef and lamb recipes pick up the latest mEAT magazine from your local butcher or supermarket or visit www.recipes.co.nz